Michelin guide inspectors have been banned from restaurants in the French ski resort of Megeve. This is the decision of owner and chef Mark Weirath, who filed a lawsuit six years ago against the chef guide for taking one of its stars, reports CNN.
The Michelin star is believed to be the most important culinary distinction for a restaurant, and for gourmets, it is a guarantee that the restaurant offers excellent cuisine. Further stars – a maximum of three – are proof that the place and its chef have reached the pinnacle of gastronomy. There is great pressure not only to achieve, but above all to maintain this status.
Chef and got a Michelin star
In 2019, after visiting the mountain restaurant of Veyrata – La Maison des Bois – the inspectors discovered a number of flaws in the food offered. This gave them an excuse to downgrade a three-star restaurant to a two-star restaurant.
The Michelin inspector said that this decision was made due to the use of cheddar cheese in the souffle. Weirath claimed he used local cheeses, including Reblochon and Beaufort, and that saffron observers may have been confused.
– They are powerless – says Weirat to this day, citing CNN. For this decision and – in his view, misjudgment – the chef sued the guide for damages he allegedly suffered as a result of this degradation. He then demanded a full explanation of this decision and symbolic compensation. – They deprived me of my dignity. Take away all my stars, he thundered.
In the end, the French court rejected the claim. Then it became clear that the chef did not provide any evidence about the material damage he saw. He left the restaurant himself and gave the management of the restaurant to his daughter.
New restaurant, new ban
Veyrat recently opened a new establishment, Le Restaurant Marc Veyrat, located in the beautiful French ski resort of Megeve. And again, it serves top dishes. In a restaurant that can accommodate 18 people, the menu costs 450 EUR or more than 1900 PLN per person. And although the chef has not given up on cooking in the spirit of fine dining, he no longer intends to compete for culinary awards – he has banned tour guides from entering his new place.
“I even have a little sign on my front door,” he told CNN. – I will be 75 years old this year. I don’t want to pass the exam and get a grade, he added.
When asked why, despite losing the battle, he decided to return to gastronomy, he emphasized that he missed working in a restaurant and the joy he got from entertaining people.
CNN reported that it had contacted the Michelin Guide for comment.
Chefs don’t want stars
Vairat is not the only chef to distance himself from this classification. Sebastian Brass asked his restaurant to be removed from the guide. He called this decision the price of freedom, although two years later the place was included in the guide with two Michelin stars. Frederic Menager also refuses to evaluate his work.
CNN noted that the examples of other chefs, such as South Korean restaurant chef Eo, show that their explicit ban does not deter anonymous reviewers who rate their establishments.
Main image source: Shutterstock
